


The Evans Genes Strike Again

by guineamania



Series: Birdbrain [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reconciliation, emotional breakdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-29 00:52:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18767830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guineamania/pseuds/guineamania
Summary: Harry had a new life in America but wounds he thought he left in the past come back to slap him in the face





	The Evans Genes Strike Again

**Author's Note:**

> As always please chat to me in the comments and prompt anything you might like to see in this verse!

“Harry, there’s a guest at the tower asking to see you. Introduced himself as Mr Dursley,” Steve called the Barton household. Wanda and Pietro both turned in time to see Harry pale as the name was mentioned before turning away to compose himself. With a deep breath and quickly running a hand over his face, Harry turned back around as if nothing had happened to smile at Wanda and Pietro.

“Thanks Steve, I’ll be there in a flash,” Harry chuckled weakly before hanging up the phone. “You guys mind passing the message on to Clint when he gets in?” Harry asked, his voice returned to normal but his skin still a shade too pale. When the twins nodded, Harry slowly nodded back and took a deep breath before he disappeared in his signature pop.

 

After calling Harry, Steve had let the two strangers up into the communal floor where they sat awkwardly. The awkwardness was probably helped by most of the Avengers stood staring at the civilians. Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Sam were the ones in the tower and weren’t used to people coming to the tower wanting their newest member. Supposedly the only people who knew that Harry was an Avenger knew his home address and would go there. They weren’t left wondering for long as Harry popped into existence in the corner of the room. The man stood staring at Harry with an almost remorseful expression. “Dudley,” Harry nodded but remained where he was stood. His hands were wringing his oversized jumper nervously as they continued to stare at each other.

“Harry, it’s good to see you. You look good,” Dudley rocked on his feet.

“Same to you. And Anna, nice to see you again,” Harry bobbed his head before walking towards the pair and offering his hand to Anna. She declined the hand shake and wrapped him in a hug instead.

“Avenging seems to be suiting you Harry,” she beamed and a small smile twitched at Harry’s lips.

“How did you guys work it out?” he questioned asking the question the other Avengers really wanted to know. Harry had only been permitted to tell the Weasley family who he was the closest with. And he didn’t seem close with this pair. Steve felt like they were intruding but he was not going to leave Harry alone when he was clearly uncomfortable.

“Mate I’m a detective. You married an Avenger, and then a magical healer was spotted on the battlefield protecting civilians and your husband. It didn’t take much,” Dudley chuckled but without any real sense of humour behind it. At least Harry smiled.

“I guess I wasn’t that subtle for anyone that knows me. And you made detective, aces mate,” Harry shook Dudley’s hand and gestured for everyone to sit. Steve calmed and Tony stopped holding on to the gauntlet trigger mechanism. “What can little old me do for you?” some of the swagger returned to Harry but he was still hunched up within the big H jumper.

“I, we,” Dudley began but he couldn’t stop laughing. “The irony is real Harry. But we got a letter for little Emily and well here,” Dudley pulled out a piece of parchment from his inside pocket. Harry didn’t even have to take the parchment before his eyes widened and a pained laugh burst out of him. Dudley lowered his eyes and lowered his hand almost in shame.

“Oh the Evans genes strike again. I almost wish Petunia was still alive to see this. With how well she dealt with her nephew being a freak and now her granddaughter ha!” he choked on his words and bent double with hysterical laughter. Everyone else stood dumbfounded apart from Dudley who stepped towards Harry. “Don’t,” Harry held out is hand to stop Dudley’s advance. “Don’t try and stop me, I need this. D, you have changed right? Listen you have changed,” Harry ranted hysterically, and Clint hurried up the stairs at the exact right time. “You look after her, you love Emily. You’re a good muggle,” Harry’s laughter turned to sobs as Clint wrapped him up in an embrace.

“Could you guys give us a minute,” he whispered to the Avengers present over Harry’s head as the wizard’s body began to shake. All the Avengers did leave but Tony had heard enough to start piecing things together.

 

Dudley and Anna had been offered a room to stay for the night and had called their babysitter at the hotel to bring Emily over the next morning to meet her uncle for the first time in years. Tony couldn’t sleep. Clint had hinted at Harry’s past but never revealed anything and Harry had talked about the fun times at school which hadn’t hinted to anything being wrong. Tony poured himself another glass of whiskey in the dark, ice cubes clinking against the glass as he drank.

“Can’t sleep either?” Harry croaked, causing Tony’s heart to pound in his chest.

“It’s a common thing these late-night meetings, we better stop of your husband will be jealous,” Tony retorted but there was no bite behind it as Harry took a seat across from him.

“You have questions,” Harry’s fingertips were intensively examining the rivets on the countertop. There was no beating around the bush.

“I do but I won’t. Some conclusions may have been drawn but it’s your past,” Tony continued to drink.

“After that breakdown I think I owe you guys a bit of history,” the corner of his mouth twitched. “Dudley is my cousin. My parents were magical and they were killed when I was a baby. I was sent to live with my non-magical aunt, my mum’s sister, in a pretence to keep me safe. They hated me because I had magic, I was powerful in my accidental magic back then and it scared my guardians and cousin. They called me freak far more than my actual name and locked me in a cupboard under the stairs to sleep. Dudley tormented me, he chased me and hit me and pushed me down stairs. That’s aside from the verbal abuse too,” Harry had not looked up once and returned to adjusting his cuffs as a distraction for his hands. Tony remained silent. Inside he was raging, screaming at the world for letting such an amazing person go through that and wishing that he could have done something back then despite knowing that he was only a child and from a different country. “I got out, when I was seventeen but the circumstances in the rest of my life wasn’t too great then either so I never really processed what happened. Too much else was going on then, I became a healer, I met Clint and shoved it all away,” Harry finally met Tony’s eyes and seemed satisfied with what he saw.

“You and Dudley seem to have resolved your disputes,” Tony finally prompted.

“Me and Dudley made up after his parents passed away peacefully and he became a police officer. Clint pretty much forced me to invite him to the wedding after we tailed him to see what he was really like. He had cleaned his act up, got a wife and a child. I thought I was over it until Dudley came here to tell me his daughter has magic,” Harry began to laugh again, and Tony finally understood the hysteria earlier that evening. One of his tormentors having a child with the same gift, it was a cruel irony.

“Sometime life gives you a kick in the teeth,” Tony raised his glass with a nod.

“Amen to that.”

 

Emily was a little delight. She was inquisitive and loving the attention of the Avengers especially her uncles. “I’m like you?” she was sat cross legged on the floor in front of Harry as the magician performed some of his more child friendly tricks.

“You are a witch,” Harry nodded, and breathed out smoke that transformed into wispy dragons to dance around Emily’s head.

“What’s Hogwarts like?” she asked, chin on hands as she leant forwards with a beaming smile. Harry just stared at her for a moment. He chuckled slightly; his own eyes were staring back at him. The Evans genes clearly passed down more than magic.

“It is a wonderful place and you’ll love it there. The teachers are good friends of mine and I’ll make sure they look after you. Who knows I might even visit, my godson is going into his fifth year so I’m sure I can make time,” Emily jumped onto Harry, knocking him backwards so they were both on the floor laughing. Clint and Tony were stood together when Dudley came over.

“I want to thank you for everything you guys have done for Harry. I’ve never seen him this happy, even after the war was over. I know he will never truly forgive me, and I will never forgive myself but he is healing however long it will take,” Dudley offered his hand and Clint shook it with a smile.

“He appreciates you, as family now. Just want you to know that,” Clint replied as Tony also shook Dudley’s hand.

“Come to ours for Christmas. I’m sure Harry would like to see Emily again and Harry has kind of adopted and it would be nice for you to meet the whole family,” Tony stated and Dudley nodded in agreement. It was only when Dudley and the family had left that one thing said hit Tony.

 

“Wait, a war?”


End file.
